Posts Tagged With: discipleship

If you died tonight, where would you go? Heaven or Hell? If you confess your mouth, JESUS IS LORD & believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for our sin & rose from the grave, you will be saved! -Romans 10:9. For all have sinned & fall short of the Glory of God! -Romans 3:23. For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God has everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 6:23.

What is truth? Who has it? Let’s face it: In today’s world, it’s hard to know what’s true anymore. How’s your journey going? Has your search for real answers only led you down a dead end? Truth is more than just talk. Real truth is soul bending. It’s deep, profound and life changing. We invite you to find this truth and enter The Passage.

God created you in His image. He wants you to know Him personally, so you may experience the love, peace and destiny He offers.

GOD’S DESIGN “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)GOD’S LOVE “For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)GOD’S PLAN “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

What prevents us from experiencing the life of love and destiny God desires for us?

Our Refusal

PEOPLE ARE SINFUL. Sin keeps us from knowing God personally and from experiencing His love, peace and destiny. Sin enslaves, blocks and separates us from God.

PEOPLE ARE SINFUL “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Sin is our innate refusal to go God’s way and instead, to go our own way and do our own thing. God is holy, that is, perfect in who He is and all He does. Our sinful nature and actions offend God’s holy nature and result in a broken relationship and separated from Him.PEOPLE ARE ENSLAVED “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34).

PEOPLE ARE SEPARATED “For the wages of sin is death…” (spiritual separation) (Romans 6:23)WAGES = PENALTY
People are sinful and separated from a holy God by a great gap. We may try to cross that gap by living a good life, not harming anyone, attending church or other religious meetings, or by giving money to our favorite charities. All of these efforts fail because the sinful condition of the heart remains unchanged, enslaved to sin.

The third principle (Below) explains the only way to cross the gap…

The Message

Jesus Christ came to provide the bridge back to a destiny with God. Jesus Christ alone forgives and removes our sins so we can know God personally, and experience His love, peace and freedom forever.

HE DIED ON THE CROSS IN OUR PLACE “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus Christ was able to pay the penalty for our sins not find Him guilty of any wrongdoing.

HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD “Christ died for our sins…He was buried, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
Christ’s resurrection proved that He has the power over death to enable us to live eternally with God.HE IS THE WAY TO GOD “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

HE SETS US FREE “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, in our place. In this way He paid the death penalty that we deserve.

What would a person need to do in order to change their destiny to know God and experience the love, and freedom from sin that He offers?

Our Respect

We must individually receive Jesus Christ, because only He provides the destiny to God. Only then can we experience His love, and live in freedom for eternity.

WE MUST RECEIVE CHRIST “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).WE RECEIVE CHRIST THROUGH FAITH “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB).Faith = trust, dependence on GodWHEN WE RECEIVE CHRIST, WE HAVE A NEW DESTINY. WE EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE, FREEDOM, AND ETERNAL LIFE. [Jesus speaking] “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NASB).To receive Christ:

When you trust Christ, you receive His complete forgiveness and an eternal relationship with God.

Knowing intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is not enough. Having an emotional experience will not change your destiny and allow you to experience His love, peace and freedom.

We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.

Think About It

These two circles represent two kinds of lives or paths that people choose:

SELF-DIRECTED LIFE Christ is outside the life. The different areas of life represented by the dots are self-directed and not in harmony with God’s desires.

CHRIST-DIRECTED LIFE Christ is in the life. This person has received Christ and His forgive-ness for their sins. Christ directs every area of life, resulting in harmony with God’s desire and plan.

Which circle represents your life right now?
Which circle do you want to represent you life?

YOU CAN RECEIVE CHRIST RIGHT NOW BY FAITH THROUGH PRAYER. (Prayer is just talking with God)
God is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. You must mean what you pray, for God knows your heart and you cannot deceive Him.

Here is a suggested prayer: Jesus Christ, I need you. I confess that I have sinned against You and have been running my own life. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please come into my life and forgive my sins and set me free. Begin directing my life. Change my destiny. Make me into the person you created me to be. Thank you for answering my prayer by coming into my life and giving me eternal life. Amen.

Does this prayer express your heart’s desire? If it does, pray this prayer right now and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

How to Know…

HOW TO KNOW THAT CHRIST IS IN YOUR LIFE Know He answered your prayer and came into your life? You can know that Christ is in your life because of the 1 John 4:14-15:

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in

God and His Word are completely trustworthy.THE BIBLE PROMISES ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL WHO RECEIVE CHRIST “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.(1 John 5:11–13, NASB)
Thank God daily that Christ is in your life and He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and you have eternal life, from the moment you invited Him in. He will not deceive you.)

What if you don’t feel any different?

DO NOT DEPEND ON FEELINGS This train diagram illustrates the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience). Read John 14:21.

The train will run with or without the caboose (feeling). In the same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or emotions. We rely on the promises of God’s Word, not our feelings. The Christian lives by faith in God and His Word.

Enjoying God
THE MOMENT YOU RECEIVED CHRIST BY FAITH, AS AN ACT OF YOUR WILL, MANY THINGS HAPPENED, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

You began the new and satisfying life for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Being freed and loved by Christ is all good! He changed your destiny. Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.

To enjoy your new relationshipwith God to the fullest…

SUGGESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH Our relationship with Christ grows as we trust God more and more with every detail of our lives. “The righteous will live by faith” (Galatians 3:11). This trust develops as we:

G

Go to God in prayer daily. (Col 4:2)

R

Read God’s Word daily (Acts 17:11). Begin with the Gospel of John

O

Obey GOd moment by moment. (John 14:21)

W

Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8)

GET INVOLVED IN A GOOD CHURCH (Bible-based, Christ centered) God’s Word admonishes us not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together…” (Hebrews 10:25; Acts 2:42–47). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside and its fire goes out. So it is with your relationship to other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the first step; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week and make plans to attend regularly. hear from you!

If you prayed this prayer & meant it. WELCOME to God’s family! Please email us at 11sixboyz@gmail.com to share the good news & we will help you walk with the Lord and we help find a good church for you. Jesus bless you abundantly! If you want to talk with someone on the phone please call 1-888-NEED-HIM

God designed us to worship Him with our whole lives. Are there actually spiritual habits that we can build into our lives that help us to worship God more deeply? Yes! Here are 10 habits than can help build worship into your life on a daily basis.

1. Worship through prayer. We often miss this important component of our prayer life. Think about the issues you usually pray about. How much of our prayer life is about us and how much of it is about God? Without a doubt God wants us to be able to share everything that is going on in our life. He wants us to get to know Him better.

When we affirm who God is through our prayers, we put our prayer life in proper perspective. That’s exactly how Jesus taught us to pray. Look at the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Mathew (6: 9-13), Jesus starts the prayer off by saying “Our Father who is in Heaven, May Your name be honored.” (NLT) Jesus teaches us an important lesson with this prayer. Prayer starts with God. Consider including in your prayers a time of focused attention on who God is.

2. Get in a regular habit of reading the Bible. The Bible says that we worship God in “spirit and in truth.” How can we ever worship God without a clear understanding of who He is? The truth about God is essential to worship. Pay special attention to the books of Psalms. No book in the Bible spends as much time carefully describing who God is.

3. Obey God. We worship God when we obey Him. We all need to build the habit of obedience into our lives. Take practical steps to see that this is a part of your life. Whenever you sense God is speaking to you, make it a regular practice to do it immediately. Don’t let procrastination weigh you down. If you can’t do it immediately, write down whatever God has been putting on your heart, so that you can do it soon!

4. Tithe. If you want to know what in your life you worship, look at your checkbook register. The Bible teaches us this important lesson: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mathew 6:21 NIV) God wants us to surrender our entire being to Him. One way to show that is by making Him Lord of our pocketbook. If you are already a committed tither, consider raising the percentage you are willing to give.

5. Build deep relationships with other Christians. The Bible teaches that God designed us to live in community with other Christians. We bring God pleasure by getting to know others and being known by them. Here with 116 Boyz, the primary way we do this is through fellowship while we game. Or joining a small group/bible study.

6. Share your faith. John Piper made many of us re-look at why we share our faith when he wrote a few years ago: “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” God wants every person on the planet to worship him, not because He is an egomaniac who needs our praise, but because worship is how we are designed by God. He wants the best for us.

Take time this week to share your spiritual journey with someone else. Tell them how you came to faith in Christ. Don’t worry about their response. Relax in the knowledge that you are playing a part in expanding God’s world-wide worship.

7. Serve others. Jesus tells us that “when you did it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did to Me!” (Matt. 25:40 NLT) When we serve one another, Jesus tells us we are really serving Him. If you don’t think you have any gifts that are useful to serve, you are wrong. God made you with talents and gifts that He specifically gave you to serve others.

8. Build into your life the attitude of thankfulness. This requires looking at the world through a different set of eyes. When we look through the lens of thankfulness, we see our lives – and everything in it – as all gifts from God. Develop your own spiritual exercise each morning that demonstrates that you are putting on your lens of thankfulness. Then begin to thank God for all of the good things in your life.

9. Begin turning over to God areas of your life that you have never committed to Him. This is the heart of worship – surrender. God won’t settle for 90 percent of your life; He wants all of it. You might have been a follower of Jesus for years, but you still have areas of your life that you are holding back from Him. What are those areas? Only you know that. Three good places to look are your checkbook, your planner and your tongue. Look at the areas of your life where you spend the most money and the most time and what you speak. Do they honor God?

If you are human, you have sin in your life that you need to surrender. Think back over the past month and write down all of the times you remember disobeying clear teaching from God. Then look for patterns. If you find patterns of sin in your life, these are areas of your life you need to surrender to God. Right at the moment start praying for God to help you overcome that sin. Ask your small group or 116 Boyz to pray for you. If you think this chronic sin might be something you can’t stop doing, please contact us (116 Boyz) so we can guide you in the right direction.

10. Live a life of purpose. God has a reason for your existence. In fact, He has five: fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and worship. You please God when you live in step with His purposes. God doesn’t want you to waste your life. To continue to grow in God’s five purposes, please join our gaming ministry.

You were designed for God’s pleasure. The purpose of worship is the foundation of the other four purposes. Fellowship without the spirit of worship is just “hanging out.” Discipleship without worship is nothing but a fruitless mental exercise. Ministry without worship is called “spinning your wheels.” Evangelism without worship is a misplaced sales pitch.

Worship isn’t simply one area of your life; it is your whole life. Start right this moment by surrendering your life to Jesus. Then spend the rest of your life learning to worship Him more fully.

“Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in
your hearts.” – 1 John 5:21 (NLT)

When the Israelites complained about the manna God miraculously
provided, He “sent fiery serpents . . . they bit the people; and
[many] . . . died” (Numbers 21:6). Eventually, Israel repented and
begged God to remove the snakes. So God told Moses to make a bronze
serpent, mount it on a pole and that whoever looked at it would be
healed. It was an amazing provision, and one that worked. So what
became of it? The Bible says Hezekiah “Broke in pieces the bronze
serpent . . . Moses had made, for . . . Israel burned incense to it”
(2 Kings 18:4 NAS). For centuries they preserved, protected and
polished it, dragging it with them everywhere, until they ended up
worshipping it. Something that had once been a blessing became an
idol.

Think it can’t happen? John the Apostle says, “Keep away from
anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” Anything or
anybody can become an idol: your church, your children, your mate,
your job, your home, your car, your education. Don’t get the wrong
idea; there’s nothing wrong with enjoying these blessings. It’s only
wrong when they attempt to take God’s rightful place!

Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts
will also be.” (Luke 12:34 NLT) And again, “For whatever is in
your heart determines what you say.” (Matthew 12:34b NLT) Where
you choose to invest your time, energy, and money, what you talk and
think about, reveals what’s in your heart. Christ wants to be “first
in everything” (Colossians 1:18 NLT) without exception. Plus, when
He’s at the center of your life, everything else is just
window-dressing.

You may be called to disciple someone. Christians that have started to walk away from the faith or just need help understanding their walk with Christ may be brought to you. Also, if our Lord has given you the opportunity of seeing someone come to Him, then you may be called to disciple this “Babe in Christ.” Discipleship – “Let the teaching, and admonishing one another…” (Colossians 3:16). Discipleship is critical to the growth and strength of the body of Christ. We are called to help each other to “Live the Life!” Let’s go over some keys to discipleship.

Discipleship not “Follow-up” – Discipleship is a long term commitment to helping a fellow Christian grow in Christ. The relationship is typically initiated by the new or growing Christian. Follow-up on the other hand is initiated by a mature Christian or evangelist right after a person comes to Christ. It is meant to make sure that a new Christian is going through with his or her new commitment. Often this done after mass crusades where hundreds of people make an emotional or mental commitment to accepting Christ. Many never follow through and join a good, Bible-based, Christ-centered church. We believe that one cause for this lack of true conversion is the absence of using the Law in evangelism.

Disciple a new Christian – A new Christian will be hungry for God’s wisdom and for learning about being a Christian. You will not need to find him. He most likely will be lead to you. That does not mean that you cannot offer to help a new Christian. It just means that if he is truly saved then you should not need to chase after him. Here are some steps to follow in setting up a discipleship meeting.

Set up a definite day and time to meet. Show the person that you are committed to his growth and be prepared with material to discuss.

Pray at the beginning and end of each meeting. Learning to be comfortable when praying with someone else is important. Try to keep the prayers short and simple at first. With the Holy Spirit’s help he will quickly pick up speed and will become comfortable in praying with other people.

A new Christian will have many questions. He may be looking for the depth of your knowledge or may be simply very inquisitive. Let him know that you do not know everything and that you will commit to find out answer to his question. Then do it!

Read the Bible with him. This may sound simple but you will find that your time together will go quickly. You may also notice that he will try to avoid reading the Bible by wanting to talk about your church or religious doctrine or someone he knows that is not saved. These topics are important but reserve time to simply read a chapter or two (a good book to start in is book of John). He may not want to read at first. So you read it but make sure to ask questions so that he has an understanding of what was read. Once he is hooked on the milk of the Word he will never let go!

Hearing “Well done good and faithful servant” is a reward many Christians will NOT hear.

Can we in all honesty expect to hear “well done good and faithful servant” if we have not been one? Imagine the disappointment you will feel standing before Jesus if you have nothing to show, nothing to be rewarded for a life spent living on this earth after becoming a Christian.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming” (1 John 2:28).

Would you die of embarrassment if Jesus came back tonight, shrinking back in shame at His coming, because you have never taken discipleship seriously?